The PDSA Animal Wellbeing Reports are useful sources of ‘up to date’ statistics regarding the welfare of the companion animal population. The 2015 report produced the following statistics that are highly relevant to feline welfare:
Regarding the behaviour of domestic cats:
The 2016 PDSA Report found that:
Hence, it should not be surprising to find that both multi-cat households and chronic stress are two of the three key issues in feline welfare (along with neutering) that the 2016 report identified, that veterinary surgeons considered needed to be addressed. But are practice staff doing enough to educate owners about these issues?
Since cats are supposedly so independent of humans, why do they find the human world so stressful?
Even the owners of highly sociable indoor cats will describe the frequent tendency of their cat to actively desire periods of solitary independence. This level of freedom to remove themselves from the human social environment can often leave owners with the impression that cats actively choose to encounter the stimuli with which they come into contact and hence that their lives should remain free from the distress associated with the negative emotions of anxiety/fear or frustration. In contrast to this assumption, the cat is highly susceptible to these emotions (Ley, 2016a).
The current domestic cat population are not many 100s of generations from their wildcat ancestors (Bradshaw, 2012) and consequently display an innate behavioural repertoire associated with an existence as both predator and prey (Bateson, 2000). Hence, much of the cat's behavioural motivation is associated with its need to hunt (Fitzgerald, 2000), resulting in:
Yet, the cat also experiences a strong motivation to ensure that it remains safe from potential harm from predators or other threats (Ley, 2016), requiring:
All of these traits are essential to the cat's survival. When cats find themselves in situations where these criteria are in some way prevented from assisting their survival, they immediately experience anxiety and as a result of this, distress. In addition, the thwarting of the cat's perception of its needs will initiate frustration (Karagiannis and Heath, 2016). Anxiety is potentially the predominant negative emotion experienced by cats, as their primary motivation for survival drives behaviours of avoidance and escape that frequently prevent cats from familiarising themselves with the diverse range of stimuli surrounding their home environment.
As a result of the many novel or unfamiliar social and environmental stimuli smelt and heard each day, the difficulty in co-existing with co-habiting cats, the problems in exhibiting a full range of natural behaviours if remaining indoors and the problems in avoiding neighbouring felines if wandering outdoors, the domestic cat is frequently exposed to stressors (Bowen and Heath, 2005). As each stress inducing incident creates neurochemistry that takes many hours to degrade (Mills, 2013), the frequent exposure to stressors creates an accumulation of neurochemicals that maintain the brains of many cats in a chronic state of distress.
Recognising the distressed cat
The cat's ability to express distress is also affected by its dual role as predator and prey. It is easy for British cat owners to forget that the majority of the world's cats live a feral lifestyle and that every year, many domestic cats enter the stray population due to an inability to cope with their domestic situation (Bradshaw, 2012). Hence cats must retain their capacity to hunt efficiently and this entails a requirement for solitary hunting activity and sole control of access to an area capable of sustaining many predatory attempts per day (Landsberg, 2013). This has reduced the need for cats to develop a wide range of obvious, close range communication signals — cats simply have not evolved for close encounters with each other (Ley, 2016). In addition, prey species need to avoid the attention of predators by remaining very still and quiet when in pain or very fearful. For these reasons, feline distress is often conveyed in a subtle manner that can be difficult to notice (Robertson, 2016). Table 1 provides some indicators of feline distress.
| Signs of acute stress include | Signs of chronic stress (more subtle and difficult to recognise) include |
|---|---|
| Immobility | Increased resting or ‘feigned’ sleep |
| Head — lower than the body, motionless. Jaw may become tense | History of increased dependency on owner |
| Eyes — fully open | Lack of play activity |
| Pupils — fully dilated, although pupils may narrow slightly | History of inappropriate urination or breakdown in toilet training |
| Ears — fully flattened back on the head | Changes in general patterns of behaviour, e.g. spending significantly more time indoors, irrespective of normal seasonal changes |
| Whiskers — back | Urine spraying indoors |
| Legs — bent | Displacement activity (repetitive out-ofcontext behaviour) |
| Tail — close to the body | Over-grooming, pica (wool or material eating) |
| Body — crouched directly on top of all fours, possibly shaking. Back may arch | Extreme vigilance and heightened startle response |
| Belly — not exposed, rapid breathing | Increased facial rubbing, scratching on surfaces |
| Vocalisation — plaintive meow, yowling, growling or silent | Inhibition or increase of feeding, grooming, urination and defecation |
| Hissing, growling, shaking, drooling | Redirected aggression (aggression towards a target that is not the original source of threat) |
| Involuntary urination, defecation | Ambivalent behaviour (approach/withdraw, conflicting signals occurring almost simultaneously) |
| Actively attempting to hide | History of hiding or social withdrawal |
| Aggression if approached | Defensive aggression towards people/cats |
Veterinary staff and owners should be familiar with feline stress indicators and, when observed, they should be ready to act on altering the social or physical environment to alleviate stress (Rochlitz, 2009).
Prevention and alleviation of stress in cats
The first step in preventing chronic feline stress is helping owners to understand the importance of where their kitten comes from (Overall, 2013). It is the mother cat's role to teach basic survival skills to her kittens. If the queen lives in a busy family home, the kittens are likely to have met an array of people and they are likely to have developed social skills that extend to interacting with humans and the kittens are more likely to have encountered domestic stimuli. If the queen lives as part of a feline social group, the kittens will have met other cats and will have some increased flexibility for coping with cats that they meet in their environment, though they may not have lived in a domestic environment and may still struggle to cope with unknown people and environmental complexity. But if the queen is feral, her kitten's future chance of survival will require sensitivity to novel social and environmental stimuli (Bradshaw, 2012), making such kittens a poor choice as a domestic companion. The temptation to ‘rescue’ feral kittens can lead to a life of chronic distress for the cat that is ill-prepared for domestic life, an existence of depleted emotional wellfare and chronic, stress-related, ill health. Education can assist prospective owners in understanding that the best outcome for feral kittens is a trap, neuter and release programme (Ellis, 2016).
Following the above advice, it may seem logical to prospective cat owners that making contact with a cat breeder will provide them with a suitable kitten. However, this will only have been enhanced if the breeder has made significant efforts to undertake the socialisation and environmental referencing to humans and other household stimuli that is so necessary to enable a cat to relax in a domestic home. Hence, prospective owners need to be prepared to thoroughly investigate their kitten's level of experience with humans, other cats, other pets and the home environment (Heath, 2016). Habituation to the stressors likely to be encountered outside the home should have been selective, and habituation to potentially dangerous situations, e.g. traffic noises, is not something that should have occurred. This is important, as while outside the home cats usually meet such stressors independently of their owners and hence in such situations cats need to remain vigilant and ready to head for a place of safety.
Important to the health of the domestic cat population is an increased pragmatism and willingness for veterinary staff to clarify to prospective cat owners that all cats are capable of living without feline company and that most cats would prefer to do so (Halls, 2016). Owner education regarding the emotional and physical health implications associated with multi-cat households should be a veterinary priority during pre-purchase conversations. In addition, such conversations should extend to advice regarding that cats need to be cats, and the frustration and distress associated with the thwarting of a cat's need to engage in natural behaviours due to the activity of the neighbouring feline population (Heath, 2016). The feline population outside the home often places considerable constraints on an individual cat's freedom of choice regarding the use of the outdoor environment (Bowen and Heath, 2005). If owners are insistent on introducing more than one cat into their home, it is essential that they are counselled regarding the need to improve chances of sociability by selecting litter siblings or young kittens (Bowen and Heath 2005). If adult cats are to be introduced it is of paramount concern that this is done gradually, following advice that enhances opportunities for the creation of a shared feline scent profile and constant, individual access to resources (Halls, 2016) — the Cats Protection and International Cat Care charity websites (see below) can provide detailed guidance for clients.
It is important for veterinary staff to extend their efforts regarding the education of cat owners to existing owners, particularly when they own more than one cat or live in an area known to have a high, outdoor, feline population. But multi-cat owners cannot be expected to relinquish their multiple cats, hence the focus on conversations with existing cat owners should be on helping their cats to cope with stress. Most importantly, it should focus on reducing the stress resulting from living in proximity to the feline population both inside and outside their home.
Owners of indoor cats may also underestimate their cat's experience of stress. Owners often fail to realise that stress may be intensified due to the limitations on opportunities for avoiding other household cats (Halls, 2016). There is also an increased potential for stress in indoor cats associated with a monotonous and overly predictable environment (Scherk, 2016).
Table 2 gives suggestions about avoiding and reducing feline stress, that can be discussed with cat owners.
| Creating a suitable environment | Comment |
|---|---|
| In a multi-cat home, ensure that no cat has to pass another's ‘territory’ to gain access to an essential resource | Identify where each cat spends most of its time and provide all essential resources (beds, litter tray, water, food) in each of these areas |
| Enhance any cat's use of a 3D environment in the home | Make shelves and worktops accessible to the cat |
| Cat ‘trees’ and other raised areas should be varied and plentiful — at least one in every area/room that a cat uses | Designs should provide observation (open) and resting (closed or with sides) areas |
| Enhance the cat's capacity to access areas — even ‘single’ cats may be wary of outside cats that can be observed from windows, children or visitors | Tunnels and boxes provide safety while travelling from place to place (especially hallways). Ensure all have two openings to enable escape if another cat jumps in! (Figure 1) |
| In multi-cat homes, ensure that all shelves are wide enough for cats to pass each other and offer sufficient variation in height and angle | Having to make eye to eye contact or engage in a ‘stand-off’ with another cat can damage relationships |
| Cats prefer to sleep alone | Beds, igloos etc. should be only large enough for one cat! |
| Elderly cats also require the safety of raised areas | Provide ramps and low steps |
| If one cat ‘guards’ the back door area or neighbouring cats use your garden | Consider an extra cat flap on a front door |
| If cats can see other cats from resting areas or from windows | Make windows opaque with attractive, temporary plastic sheets or other material |
| Prevent outdoor cats from entering the home | Use a microchipped cat flap and keep doors and windows closed |
| If outdoor cats are marking around doorways or lurking there | Keep this area cleaned with biological washing powder. Provide large ornamental plant pots for your cat to hide behind as it attempts to exit the home and use home harvested pheromones to wipe their surfaces |
| If other cats are using the garden | Consider cat-proof fencing |
| Allow each cat to be a cat! | Comment |
| Provide plenty of scratch posts in a variety of materials, positions (vertical and horizontal) and rooms. Cat trees can double for this purpose | Every cat will have a different preference. Don't forget well-travelled passageways. Place them where cats have to come together — allowing appropriate territorial signalling |
| Place litter trays around the house so no cat has to run the gauntlet past another cat to reach one | One tray per cat plus one (all in separate rooms) is a minimum. Single cats can also benefit from multiple trays, especially if there are children or visitors in the home |
| Toys should resemble prey — small and furry or feathery | Constantly rotate the toys during play sessions — every few minutes |
| Erratic movement — such as provided by ‘fishing-rod’ type toys — is popular | Try to end the game over a tasty morsel — this can relieve frustration and reduce injury to other cats and humans |
| Play ‘retrieve’ | Use small jingle balls or scrunched up paper and tunnels to increase the fun |
| Teach your cat new tricks and increase mental stimulation | Rewards and target training will make your cat easier to handle and will provide you both with a lot of fun |
| Cats need to feel ‘in control’ of a familiar environment, so prevent inappropriate marking by creating familiarity | Harvest your cat's facial pheromones on cotton gloves and wipe these over novel items that come into the home |
| Encouraging appropriate mental stimulation | Comment |
| Meet the need to work for food | As an alternative to food bowls, offer multiple opportunities for small meals involving puzzle feeding. NEVER FEED CATS TOGETHER |
| Use mental and physical energy | Even sedentary cats will move around and investigate their environment if small tasty meals are the reward. If the cat is elderly, provide ramps and steps to make this easier |
| Good pet shops can give advice on a wide array of cat puzzle feeding toys | But plenty of household items can be used — toilet roll centres, yoghurt pots, tennis balls with holes |
| Cats like to be able to see their food | Select transparent toys or those with holes large enough for the cat to be able to see its ‘prey’ |
| Cats never choose to eat, drink and toilet in one place | These resources should be separated and there should be at least one set per cat placed in the rooms that individual cats like to use |
| Cats don't like their whiskers to touch the sides of bowls or to lose sight of stimuli approaching them | Feed cats in flat pottery or glass plates (plastic ones retain smells) and water bowls should be wide and full to the brim |
The impact of stress on feline health
Stress affects both the length and quality of the cat's life (Karagiannis, 2016). Particularly effected in cats are the lower urinary tract, gastrointestinal system and immune system (Sparks, 2016). In addition, stress may predispose cats to endocrine diseases, skin disease and allergies (Rodan, 2016) (Table 3).
| Physical system | Impact – increased risk of: |
|---|---|
| Urinary system | Feline idiopathic cystitis |
| Gastrointestinal system | Intermittent diarrhoea |
| Immune system | Feline herpes virus (FHV) |
| Endocrine system | Hyperthyroidism |
| Skin | Psychogenic alopecia |
| Mental health | Wool sucking and other picas |
The interrelationship between stress and health can become a ‘chicken and egg’ debate. Although there is no doubt that stress can predispose cats to medical problems, it is inevitable that illness and discomfort will initiate, or intensify existing, stress (Sparkes, 2016). In addition, any condition resulting in a cat experiencing pain will also initiate, or increase existing levels of stress (Robertson, 2016). This can become a serious welfare problem for the older cat whose owner may assume that their cat's reduced behavioural activity is merely associated with old age, leading to a failure to alleviate either stress or physical discomfort (Robertson, 2016).
When cats are suffering from medical conditions that may have a stress-related component — and particularly if they are chronic sufferers with repeat episodes of illness — potential sources of stress should be investigated (Rodan and Heath, 2016). If the veterinary practice does not have a specialist in cat behaviour on its staff team, then an immediate referral should occur to a clinical behaviourist working with cats (see Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors (APBC), Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour register of accredited clinical animal behaviourists (ASAB CCAB) and the Animal Behaviour and Training Council (ABTC) website information below).
Cats need to be cats
An innate part of being a cat is avoiding predators, harm and avoiding social competition from other cats in the environment both inside and outside the home (Seksel, 2016). However, the domestic world, both inside and outside the home, is full of novel and other stimuli to which many cats have failed to become habituated — all of these stimuli are considered by the cat to be potentially dangerous and hence they are stressors (Mills et al, 2013). Also, many owners still consider the cat's social needs to be akin to their own, accumulating more than one cat and assuming that this is of benefit to their cats (Figure 2), when this is sadly, rarely the case, creating exposure to cats from which the individual cat cannot escape (Hall, 2016). Added to these sources of stress is the increasing (and fluctuating) population of cats using the outdoor environment (Bradshaw, 2012; PDSA, 2015), making it extremely difficult for cats to engage in natural behaviours in the area around their home — a further source of stress.
Conclusion
Feline welfare improvements associated with reducing the incidence of chronic stress will not improve until owners are fully informed about the issue (Seksel, 2016). However, the education of veterinary staff is not enough — owners must understand the potential emotional and physical impact of stress on their cat (Ellis, 2016). The responsibility for conveying this information cannot be left to the cat charities; veterinary staff (receptionists, nurses and veterinary surgeons) must all play their part in ensuring that the message about the welfare and health problems associated with feline stress is proliferated.